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| Science & Technology |
| Pavement that charges electric vehicles being developed in Indiana |
| 2021-07-19 |
| [WRTV] - INDIANAPOLIS — The first phase of a project to develop wireless electric vehicle charging pavement on Indiana highways is slated to start later this summer. Indiana will be the first location in the world to create a segment of pavement on the highway that can charge electric vehicles wirelessly, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation. The three-phase project is part of the Advancing Sustainability through Power Infrastructure for Road Electrification (ASPIRE) Initiative. The project will use magnetizable concrete - which is developed by a German startup called Magment GmbH - to enable the wireless charging of electric vehicles as they drive. "We're quite eager to see this first of its kind project unfold in Indiana," David Christensen, the ASPIRE Innovation Director, stated in a release. "This partnership that includes Magment, INDOT, Purdue University, and the larger ASPIRE consortium has great promise to really move the needle on technology development, which will, in turn, enable more positive impacts from deeper electric vehicle adoption." Phases one and two of the electric charging pavement project will feature pavement testing, analysis and optimization research at Purdue University's West Lafayette campus. In phase three of the project, INDOT will construct a quarter-mile-long testbed where engineers will test the concrete’s capacity to charge heavy trucks operating at high power (200 kilowatts and above). That location is yet to be determined. Thoughts - I'm concerned with 'frost heave' in these parts and what that will do to any embedded power conductors for this. Secondly, unless this pavement will generate MegaWatts of charging capacity per foot (which in itself would seem problematic on many levels), one would have to drive or park their vehicle for a couple of hours on these strips to produce a sufficient charge. Can't really make a valid assessment with this initial information, though. |
| Posted by:Mullah Richard |
| #19 |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2021-07-19 18:43 |
| #18 Thank Deacon. Actually I looked it up and some grades are magnetic - others aren't. I googled about surgical steel and got this.. More that you could ever want :). So now we learned something. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2021-07-19 18:14 |
| #17 Crazy Fool having worked with stainless steel pipe for around 40 years I can assure you it isn't magnetic. Too much chromium |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2021-07-19 17:21 |
| #16 Last I looked, the solar roads thing was dead. Mostly the obvious reasons: dirt and snow, and that whole driving on them business. It will be interesting to see the math after they get the prototype up and running. I didn't goog it, but 'magnetizable concrete' has the scent of good ol' 19th century snake oil. In any case, if we are going electric, we need to be building power plants, some version of The Green Power Scam, and an whole bunch of transmission lines right now. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2021-07-19 17:17 |
| #15 Some creative engineers could probably figure out a way to 'wire' the steel in steel-belted radial tires such and run a current through the pavement such that an induced current charged the car batteries but if I recall my thermodynamics correctly (doubtful) the energy pushed through the pavement would have to exceed that retrieved by the vehicle. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2021-07-19 16:49 |
| #14 What you really need, is a monorail. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2021-07-19 16:22 |
| #13 Think about going over this magnetic charger with a stainless steel hip, knee, or other appliance. Fun! And I wonder how efficient the energy transfer would be. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2021-07-19 16:00 |
| #12 Sumitomo's concept tire harnesses friction to generate electricity |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2021-07-19 15:34 |
| #11 "Hey kids, let's go watch the Aurora over the freeway tonight!" |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2021-07-19 14:38 |
| #10 The project will use magnetizable concrete "Oooh Driver! My piercings are hurting!" "Someone gemme off this bus floor my hip just jumped outta my ass! O my god o my god!" |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2021-07-19 14:21 |
| #9 That's the idea, Raj! Average good solar panel puts out about 16-19 watts per square foot, and the industry leader (Sunpower) 20-sqft panel peaks out at about 360 watts. Current Nissan Leaf requires about 5kW to charge so 13-14 of those panels mounted on the roof would be perfect! (Of course, that doesn't include actual operational energy requirements which are ~48kW) |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2021-07-19 13:38 |
| #8 I have an idea - put solar panels on the roof of the car. Problem solved? |
| Posted by: Raj 2021-07-19 13:12 |
| #7 Details, TW. Inconvenient details. Don't bother them with details because this is all for Mother Gaia (and the 'Science' is 'Settled', don't ya know). And we won't talk about the intersectional curve comparison of CO2 and other 'toxic' emissions between Electric Vehicle Battery manufacturing (plus usage gas venting and battery replacement), and the emissions generated by internal combustion engine fuel production and use over a 500,000 mile lifetime. That might be problematic. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2021-07-19 13:03 |
| #6 Wasn’t there supposed to be a solar component to this kind of thing? Separately, what will the current do to non-electric cars? To hybrids? To people and animals who for whatever reason walk on the charging pavement? What if the person has a pacemaker or insulin pump? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2021-07-19 12:39 |
| #5 ^Good for lawyers? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru PB 2021-07-19 12:13 |
| #4 No mention of where the electricity magically powering this charging is based. Unicorn farts only go so far…….Your mileage may vary….. |
| Posted by: Everyday a Wildcat (EMAW) 2021-07-19 11:59 |
| #3 Is there still that town in WVa where Wi-Fi is illegal? Because some people are 'sensitive" to EM emmissions? |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2021-07-19 11:26 |
| #2 Anybody remember the 'Bad Idea Jeans' skit on SNL? This is it. |
| Posted by: Raj 2021-07-19 10:31 |
| #1 Anybody remember the 'Bad Idea Jeans' skit on SNL? This is it. |
| Posted by: Raj 2021-07-19 10:31 |